Breweries prove popular in Mount Dora

What happens when a master woodworker hangs up his hammer and unplugs his lathe? Naturally, the skilled artisan tries his hand creating other works of art. Instead of refinishing antiques, these days Jeff Herbst, owner of Mount Dora Brewing and Rocking Rabbit Brewery, is perfecting the finish on his collection of handcrafted ales.

For 34 years, Herbst spent his working days at his spacious woodworking shop restoring antique furniture. As his carpentry career came to a close, he started fiddling with beer making. One thing led to another, and before he knew it, he had purchased equipment from a closed pub.

“I’m doing this because it’s fun,” he said. “I like making beer and I like drinking beer.”

The beer isn’t the only thing handcrafted at this institution of hops and barley as nearly everything in the building was handmade. For several years, Herbst updated his 1920s building into a tasting room. At the door sits a larger than life wooden rocking rabbit as the brewery’s mascot.

“I thought that would make a great logo,” he said. “Nobody could say I stole or copied it because I made it.”

He now spends three days a week making beer. The 16-hour process, from start to finish, involves getting everything cooked and pumped to the fermenting tank. Due to the long beer-making process, the brewery is open Friday & Saturday from 3 to 11 p.m., Sunday from 12:30 to- 6 p.m. and Monday from 6 to 11 p.m.

“They’ve been drinking all the beer I can brew,” Herbst said. “I’ve made my own recipes — making it consistently the same is the hard part. Making five gallons consistent versus 125 gallons is a big difference.”

Some of the recent brews available on tap include Rocking Rabbit Red, Beauclaire Blond, Pistolville Porter, Lake Dora Swamp Swill and Dora Drawdy Drool. Opened in February 2010, word is quickly spreading about Mount Dora Brewing and Rocking Rabbit Brewery’s handcrafted beer.

“One weekend we had couples from England, Germany and France,” Herbst said. “Enjoying homemade beer is almost like a cult.”

Accompanying the good brews on Friday and Saturday nights is the Brewery Boys. Herbst serves as the frontman for the ragtag collection of local musicians that play for free beer.

“When the brewery boys are playing, it’s just nuts in here,” he said. “We try to do a lot of dancing stuff. It’s a lot of stuff people have heard over the years.”